20 responses to “Manos: The Hands Of Grate”

“That was the surviving members of Led Zeppelin! They’re doing a reunion show here! This might just save the Harry L. Dinkle performing arts center!”

“”That was NASA! They’re holding the launch here! This might just save the huge concrete slab on the outskirts of town!”

“That was a customer! They ordered two pizzas! This might just save Montoni’s!”

“That was Sloan Kettering! They’re building the new cancer hospital here! This might just save Lisa!”

Ooops, scratch the last one, too late. What an ingenious business plan. Now if he could get EVERY studio to hold EVERY premier at the Valentine he’d be looking at some SERIOUS MONEY! And if EVERY small town movie house did this, our long national movie house nightmare might finally go away!

How does this premier “save” the stupid Valentine anyway? This dolt will probably need to drop a bundle getting the place in shape for the crowd and whatnot, plus it’s just one night, one showing and that’s it. As soon as it’s over everyone will go right back to ignoring the stinky old Valentine again and Beardo will be struggling to keep the doors open, so all this is really creating is cruel false hope and one short evening of escapist fantasy before reality crushes his will and soul once more.

not only the premiere but at the post show party at Montoni’s, I predict the triple three generation wedding of the century– Cliff Anger and Vera, Mason Jarr and Cindy, Corey Winkerbean and Rocky, with the grooms all dressed as Starbuck Jones, and the brides all getting Starbucks decoder rings as wedding rings

” That’s what heroes do.” BaTom’s favorite all-purpose meme. From Crazy Harry’s testimony about how reading comics saved his life to a Hollywood movie premiere saving a movie theater, he uses the same deus ex machina.

They just put up that movie poster. And basically immediately random kids show up to lose their minds over it. How is it the theater is hurting for money, if they have that kind of crowd there? And if kids are that excited for Starbuck Jones, how is it not a movie franchise already?

Wow. Everyone’s all morose and negative usually and then when something good, absolutely absurd and unbelievable happens, they all accept it without question. Yes, the hired director of a nine figure dollar movie really arranges things like the premiere through Twitter. This totally isn’t a joke! He wrote it in Official Starbuck Jones code!

The Load was also lucky that Jff Mrdch had an official Ovaltine Starbuck Jones Decoder Ring from 1953 and that he would recognize that as such so he could decode that stupid tweet. I’m sure a movie studio would totally leave something as significant as planning their World Premiere to such random circumstances.

“So, has this Jeff Murdoch guy replied to our message?”
“Not yet. Maybe we shouldn’t have sent it in code.”
“Ridiculous! He talked about how he watched the serial back in the ’50s! He must have a toy decoder ring from those days that he still wears around today at age 70 like a complete dipshit.”
“So how many more days are we going to wait for him to respond?”
“As long as it takes, baby!”
“Oh well, no one goes to the movies in the summer anyway, I guess. Perhaps he’ll respond before Thanksgiving.”

Leaving aside the real inner workings of a studio as everyone mentioned, I imagine this will be like the Olympics, where it’s generally not worth the effort to host.

Of course, this being FW, Montoni’s will cater the event; the Komix Korner will be offered millions for it’s collection (renewed national fervor in comic books, ya know); and Les will wax poetic about how this was really all because of him.

Why is it that I find the most annoying thing about today’s strip are the two moppets losing their minds about the Starbuck Jones Serial movie poster? I mean there is so much to loathe but this specific detail just grates.

Yep, I’m sure the little tykes would love a ten minute Flash Gordon rip-off from before their grandparents were born in black and white with special effects that cost about eight dollars. Kids love every single part of that.

Obviously, after all the Avengers and Star Wars and Spiderman and Wonder Woman they’ve become jaded to massive FX budgets and hi-def. Nostalgia is a big part of a seven year-old’s life.